Former World Cup ref Clive Thomas has called for Marriner to be stood down for the rest of the season.

He apologised for the blunder after the game, and ex-ref Gallagher says the matter should end there.

'I can't see that would do a referee any good," he told the BBC. "I can't see it would do Andre any good [to be stood down]."

"You've got one of the leading referees in not only England but in Europe, and you're going to stand him down? That doesn't do the Premier League any good because he is a top top-flight referee - he's made one mistake and his confidence would be shattered if that happened.

"I can't see that would do him any good whatsoever.

“Every referee will learn from this and identify what they can do if a similar situation ever occurs again”

Andre Marriner

"Every referee will learn from this and identify what they can do if a similar situation ever occurs again.

"For Andre, maybe he wants to get straight back into a game next week, maybe he just wants a cooling-off period to take pressure off. But he certainly doesn't need to be out for the rest of the season."